When the Stars Align
by buggiekinsx
Summary: At the beginning of her day, Betty Cooper's car broke down. At the end, she'd somehow found herself on a date with the person she'd least expect. Somehow, the universe always works itself out.


_A/N: for sandalaris on Tumblr for the Riverdale Holiday Exchange :)_

 _/_

 _I'm calm. I'm calm. I'm calm. I am calm._ Betty thought to herself.

She was on the cusp of a complete meltdown after the numerous mishaps that had taken place throughout her day. She'd woken up with an itching feeling that something was wrong and it turned out that _everything_ would go wrong today.

Halfway to school, the love of her life, her '62 Thunderbird broke down on Crystal Road. The engine blew and there was no way Betty could fix it in the ditch of the road. She wound up waiting a half an hour for Riverdale's one mechanic shop to send someone her way. Thankfully, she worked her Cooper charm and got Robby the tow truck driver to drop her off at the high school. After all her car troubles, she managed to walk into first period with five minutes left of class.

Once she walked into the classroom, it hit her that she had a huge test in first period… that she completely missed. Already feeling defeated, she decided to focus on her time on meeting her deadline for the Blue & Gold, she had intended on coming in early to finish it but the universe had other plans.

Soon, Betty had basically gotten back into the flow of her day. She'd called the mechanic shop and they said she would have her car back within the next two days, which wasn't the best situation and she wished she could get her hands in it herself but she was too busy to worry about that. She was literally thanking her stars that there was no River Vixen practice today because she would need to dedicate her entire afternoon into finishing B&G before the deadline.

At lunch, Betty was discussing her plan to finish the paper with Jughead. She was pleasantly surprised when he joined the Blue & Gold (not too much, considering she was always badgering him about how great his writing would be in the B&G) but with his help, the entire weekly issue was now a shared stress instead of just her stress. Veronica & Kevin were discussing some scandalous outfit another Kardashian wore to some gala while Archie shacked up with the football boys. Betty threw glances every so often that way because of Arch but there was too much on her plate for her to be on full Archie alert.

& then her day took another turn in the form of pale skin, cherry lipstick and flaming, red hair.

"B. V. Others." She nodded her head in acknowledgement as she addressed them all. "Due to the horrible performance at last week's game, I'm calling a mandatory Vixen meet today. And of course, I need my two second-bests at my tips and toes at practice, got it? Oh & anyone who doesn't attend today will be kicked off my squad- No if, ands, or buts. Hm, I've noticed that Mudge girl missing a few practices and we can't have that." She glanced between the two girls before allowing her eyes to linger on Veronica, a small smile playing on her lips. "Anywho, I must go. I'll see you at practice, ta-ta." Her cherry lips twisted into a smile before she turned on her heels and strut away in true Cheryl form, swaying her hips slightly knowing that a certain Latina was watching her.

Betty smiled at her friend, "What's going on with you guys, V? Still not going public?"

Veronica sighed, "I want to, she wants to. She's just not ready as yet… after everything with Jason, her dad, the fire at Thornhill, it's a lot for her to take in. I want to help her recover before taking any serious steps in our relationship."

"That's good. I'm happy for you guys, I know your support is helping her a lot."

Betty froze. "Wait! Did she just say we have Vixen practice?!"

/

She was running sprinting to the Blue & Gold to help Jughead finish the paper. Right now, he was slaving away, picking up her slack & as much as she appreciated it- she felt guilt for having him do this.

She ran into the B&G room and saw Jughead furiously typing away in his corner of the room.  
"Jug, I'm here! I can finish it up, you don't have to stay. I'm so sorry for dropping this on you."

"Betty, it's fine. I'm almost done here, you can head home. Don't worry about it."

"Jug, honestly I can'-" The shrill of her phone ringing cut her off. She glanced down and dsaw that her mother was calling her. One second she mouthed to Jughead as she stepped out the room and answered Alice.

"Betty, sweetheart. I need you to run some errands for me down in Greendale, it's really important. I'm busy at the Register and I just can't make it up there right now. I'll text you the info."

"Mom, I rea-" She looked at the phone screen and her home screen popped up. Her mom hung up before she could even get a response out, classic Alice Cooper. How the hell was she supposed to get to Greendale without a car?

She walked back into the newspaper room with her head down and the most defeated look on her face. "Alice Cooper strikes again?"

"Yup. I have no car yet I have to go to Greendale. The universe has to be playing some type of game with me."

"Hey, I remember Archie mentioning something about a late practice today, why don't you ask him to borrow his car?"

"Jug! You're a lifesaver. Literally. Thank you so much for finishing the paper. I owe you Pops okay!" She yelled at as she bolted from the room. She ran towards the football field, figuring that was where she'd most likely find him.

As she approached the field, she saw the football boys doing their workouts. She stopped by the gate of the field and waved at Coach Taylor before waving Archie over.

"Hey Arch, my car's in the shop and I need to run a few errands. Can I borrow your car for a bit, please?"

"I would say yes but I didn't drive my truck today, Betts. I'm sorry."

"Shit. It's fine. Thanks anyways." She turned and started walking away before she heard the infamous Reggie Mantle calling her name.

"Hey mini Coop! I heard you need a ride?" he said as he flashed her one of his signature boyish grins.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" She rolled his eyes at his subtle advances. Reggie had learned that his usual game didn't work on her & he was constantly picking to see if he would get her to break.

He dangled his keys, "You can borrow my ride if you need."

"Reggie Mantle actually doing something from the goodness of his heart? What's the catch?" She eyed him suspiciously.

Reggie shrugged and rubbed his neck, "No catch, I can't help a friend in need?"

"Thank you, Reggie. I didn't know you could be so sweet." Betty was surprised, Reggie loved his car. It wasn't something he'd just be lending out to his friends to borrow. She shrugged it off though, he was doing something nice and she desperately needed a ride or Alice would have her head.

Reggie handed her the keys and began jogging back to where the football team was practicing. After a few feet, he turned around and shouted out to her, "I get out at 7:30. Pick me up and we're grabbing Pop's, my treat." He winked at her quickly before turning and finishing his jog back.

Betty swore she saw a bit of steam exit Archie's ears but she ignored it. She wasn't surprised that Reggie used this to his advantage. It was just a bite at Pop's between two friends, it's not a date. It's definitely not a date.

/

Betty pulled up to Riverdale High just as the clock turned to 7:30. Reggie was already standing outside, showered and dressed with his football gear in tow.

Betty popped the trunk and hopped out to meet Reggie. "Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you this cleaned up after practice, Reg."

Reggie threw his gear into his truck before locking eyes with Betty, "I have one shot to blow this out of the ballpark, I'm not planning on messing it up Betts."

He walked over to the passenger's door and opened it for Betty, "My lady."

Betty's eyebrows shot up and a small smile played on her lips, "Thank you, Reg."

He closed her door before jogging over to the driver's side and hopping in, "Let's go, Coop."

/

After sitting in severe silence for the five minute ride to Pop's (in other words, Reggie spent the entire ride in disbelief that he actually got a date with thee Betty Cooper), they walked into Pop's.

"Hey kids, how you doing? Hope you're treating her good, Mantle." he said with a wink. "Sit wherever you'd like, I'll be right there."

With a faint blush on her cheeks, Reggie placed his hand on the small of her back to lead her to a booth. Betty jumped slightly at electricity she felt running on her skin when he touched her. Her blush deepened again at the realization that she was indeed on a date with the infamous player Reggie Mantle and that it may or may not be doing something to her little heart.

They slid into the booths across from each other before quickly placing their order with Pop's.

"Well, Mantle. Here we are."

"Here we are, mini Coop. You have no idea how long I've waited for this."

"I bet you say that to all the girls, Reg."

"Haha, no. I'm serious, Betty. I've always had a crush on you but you've always been hung up on Arch. I just figured I might as well try my luck before I never got a shot with you." His head dropped and he rubbed his neck with his palm. Betty was taken back, she didn't realize Reggie had a crush on her… or that Reggie, Riverdale's very own playboy, had crushes?

"It's fine, Betty. Seriously. I know you never knew, at least I managed to get this date, eh?"

Before she could reply, Pop's came over with their order, "Enjoy, kiddos."

"Thanks, Pop!" they echoed back.

Reggie pulled out his phone and pointed it towards Betty, "Let me get a quick picture, Cooper."

A confused look dawned on Betty's face, "For what?"

"So I can show Santa what I want for Christmas this year." He replied with a wink. A giggle escaped from her lips and Reggie snapped a few pictures of her.

"Are you planning on staying here after graduation?"

"No, I want to go to NYU and maybe travel a bit, you know? Maybe I'll come back when I have a family to raise."

NYU? I heard their journalism program is really good, I've been looking into it. Maybe, we'll both end up there… what do you want to study?"

"I don't know, Betts… I mean I know everyone expects me to go somewhere because of football or business, you know the whole Mantle family expectation but I'm not sure that's what I want to do… I'm not really sure if I'm that person." Reggie stared at her nervously. He knew they dived into deep waters really early in their date but he can't help but want to share everything with Betty when he looks at her.. He just feels calm.. Like he can be himself for once.

"Well, then who exactly is Reggie Mantle then?"

A smile spread across Reggie's face, "I'll show you." He grabbed a few To-Go boxes for their food and paid their bill before taking a drive to downtown Riverdale.

/

They pulled up to an empty looking shop with no signs in sight.

"Uh, where are we, Reggie?"

"You asked me who Reggie Mantle was.. This is me."

"An empty store?" she asked confused.

"Don't be a smartass, Cooper." he laughed. "Come on, let's go inside." he jumped out of the car nervously. This wasn't a part of him he usually shared with people and he couldn't help but wish she'd appreciate it as much as he did.

They walked up to the door and Reggie unlocked it before placing his hands over her eyes. "Keep your eyes closed, I want this to be a surprise."

They walked in and Reggie flicked on the lights. He looked around and took in everything to prepare himself for allowing Betty in to see this side of him. He stepped in front of her before telling her to open her eyes.

Betty's mouth dropped open. She was standing in the middle of a studio that had intricate paintings drawn along the walls. There were explosions of colors, people and animals. On one wall, there was a beautiful elephant with its trunk turned up and water spraying out. This painting drew out a scene on the other walls with branches leading to families that turned into flowers… Then there were some beautiful abstract canvases placed over the wall paintings. Her favorite was the ceiling that had a million little stars staring down at her.

"Wow, Reggie… this is beautiful. Did you do all of this?"

A smile graced his face as her saw the awestruck look on her face, "Yeah, it's kind of my little secret. You know, football player by day, artist by night."

A giggle erupted from her stomach. Betty was in disbelief, she had Reggie all wrong. Throughout their date, he was constantly proving her wrong about him and she was so touched that he'd share such a personal part of him with her.

"You're so talented, Reg. I'm so happy you could share this with me."

"So am I, Betts. I don't know how to explain it but at some point, painting just really spoke to me and I'm happy when I'm doing it. I just know that it's not what anyone expects from me."

"Who cares? You're happy doing it, that's all that matters."

"You're right, maybe I should take your advice."

"You should."

"I have a few canvases laying around… Why don't we see how your painting skills are, eh?" He looked over at her smirking.

"Oh, you're on, Mantle!"

They both laid out some canvases and began painting and bickering. Occasionally making their way over to the other's canvas to pop a smear of paint on it, which lead to some small paint fights and a lot of giggles. Time flew by before Betty realized she had to be on her way home before having to deal with Alice.

On the ride back, Betty couldn't help but think that she had seen a whole different side of Reggie. He was sweet and charming and there was way more to him than just football. She found herself realizing that she was crushing on Reggie Mantle and a hot blush began burning her cheeks. She smiled to herself as they pulled up to her house.

Reggie was ready to go in for the big kiss but the closer they got to Betty's house, they more he found himself realizing that he didn't exactly want to kiss her. Don't get him wrong, he liked her but he felt that she deserved way more than the typical treatment he'd give any other girl. He wanted their first kiss to be magical or at least not on a date that he basically blackmailed her into.

They pulled up to her house and sat in silence for a moment.

"I actually had a really nice time, Reggie. Thank you for tonight."

"Nice enough time to want to see me again?"

"You mean in school, right?" she said teasingly but Reggie cramped up nervously, believing that she didn't want to see him again.

"Yeah, yeah.. You know, yea, whatever you want Betts." He stammered out.

She giggled, "Ofcourse I want to see you again, Reggie."

"Really? Okay, I'll plan it out okay? Goodnight." He said tripping over his words, he mentally slapped himself for making a fool out of himself but he was so excited that she wanted to see him again.

Betty looked up at him through her lashes, "No goodnight kiss?"

For the millionth time that night, Reggie felt his nervousness creeping up on him. He didn't want to mess anything up with her and for him, this was a first. He took a second to recollect himself.

"Do you want to me to kiss you?"

Betty paused. She hadn't thought about it before but she found herself wanting to kiss him. When she looked at him, he felt warm and fuzzy inside… like a little ball of sunshine and happiness was set off around him.

She nodded.

Reggies palm fit onto her jaw and he drew her face closer to his.

Reggie felt himself surrounded by the strong scent of vanilla as he got closer to her and Betty smelled his musky, sandalwood scent and found herself edging closer to him. Their eyes drooped close as their lips meet and cold shivers ran down their spines. The hairs on the back of their necks stood tall yet neither of them felt fireworks go off… Instead, it felt like home.


End file.
